What is BDS?

Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement for freedom, justice and equality. BDS upholds the simple principle that Palestinians are entitled to the same rights as the rest of humanity.

DePaul students vote to boycott Sabra Hummus

"The vast majority of students who voted in DePaul University’s student election last week were in favor of ending the sale of Sabra hummus in campus dining halls.
CHICAGO, IL (May 22, 2010)—Last week, DePaul University’s Student Government Association allowed a campus-wide referendum on whether or not Sabra hummus should be replaced with an alternative hummus brand in campus dining halls. The referendum was presented by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and was the first to be placed on student government election ballot in at least ten years.

"The vast majority of students who voted in DePaul University’s student election last week were in favor of ending the sale of Sabra hummus in campus dining halls.

CHICAGO, IL (May 22, 2010)—Last week, DePaul University’s Student Government Association allowed a campus-wide referendum on whether or not Sabra hummus should be replaced with an alternative hummus brand in campus dining halls. The referendum was presented by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and was the first to be placed on student government election ballot in at least ten years. SJP has been campaigning to ban the product because its co-owner, the Strauss Group, provides financial support and supplies to two Israeli military units implicated in human rights abuses, the Golani and Givati brigades.

The results of the election came in on Friday. Over the course of four days, SJP mobilized 1,127 students to vote in favor of the removal of Sabra, making up nearly 80 percent of the total 1,467 votes. Only 332 students voted against the referendum, and 8 voted “other.” In order for a referendum to be valid, however, it must have a total voter turnout of no less than 1,500. Yet even if there were 1,500 votes, the referendum would have been non-binding, according to University officials.

Nevertheless, SJP is pleased with the number of students who voted in favor of replacing Sabra with an alternative brand of hummus. Yesterday, in open letter to the DePaul University community, SJP stated “the number of votes cast in favor of the referendum represents an incredible, landslide victory for our campaign to boycott Sabra hummus.”

Sabra hummus remains on campus shelves, pending a decision from the University’s Fair Business Practices Committee. As long as Sabra remains the school’s hummus brand of choice, SJP’s campaign is not over. SJP also stated in the letter that “through nonviolent and academic-based activism, SJP will continue our efforts to raise awareness of Israel’s human rights violations and strive for more socially conscious business relationships at DePaul University.”

“Sabra, which currently supplies hummus to the DePaul cafeteria, is co-owned by the Strauss Group. The Strauss group provides financial support and supplies to the Golani and Givati brigades of the Israeli military, which have been found by the United Nations to be violators of human rights. Are you in favor of replacing Sabra with an alternative brand of hummus?”

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